Thill-coupling.



No. 878,632- PATENTED DEC. 10, 1907. J. L. TAYLOR.

' THILL COUPLING,

APPLICATION FILED APR. 29, 1907.

INVENTOR J5/zwZ.ZEzyZ01" A TTORNEYS UNITED STATES JOHN LEROY TAYLOR, OF DALTQN, PENNSYLVANIA.

THILL-COUPLING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 10, 1907.

Application filed April 29, 1907. Serial No- 370,829

T 0 all 1072011). it may concern:

Be it known that I, J OHN LEROY TAYLOR, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Dalton, in the county of Lackawanna and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Thill-Couplings, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The purpose of the invention is to provide a quick shifting and anti-rattling thill coupling which is of simple, durable and economic construction.

A further purpose of the invention is to provide a coupling wherein by simply lifting and turning one member, the shaft butt may be unobstructedly released from the coupling, and wherein also when a shaft butt is placed in position and the said member is brought ,to normal position, a spring will act to immediately bring the member in looking, yet yielding engagement with the shaft butt, holding the butts of the shafts in proper position relative to the axle and permitting them to have free yet noiseless movement.

The invention consists in the novel construction and combination of the several parts as will be hereinafter fully set forth and pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the coupling in closed or locked position, and a transverse section through the axle and shaft butt; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the coupling and the section of the shaft to which it is attached, and a shaft butt locked in the coupling; and Fig. 3 is a vertical section through a portion of the coupling, and a shaft butt showing one released from the other, the section being taken practically on the line 33 of Fig. 2.

A represents a portion of the axle of a vehicle, B represents one member of a shaft, and B the butt which is at the end of the shaft members. This butt B is of skeleton formation and of substantially rectangular shape, its rear member 10 being cylindrical in cross section.

C represents the butt of the coupling which at its rear portion is provided with a recess 1 1 in its upper face whereby to fit the body of the coupling to the bottom portion of the axle A, which is accomplished through the medium of a clip 12, or the equivalent thereof. The clip 12 also passes through the upper member of a spring 13; this spring is curved from the bottom portion of the body of the coupling rearwardly and downwardly, and then forwardly and upwardly, its forward terminal 13 being arched in a manner to present a convexed upper face and a concaved lower face, as is particularly shown in Fi 1.

A pocket 14 is formed in the forward end portion of the body of the coupling C. This pocket, as is particularly shown in Fig. is open at the top, its forward wall 15 being hook-shaped, having more or less of a downward and rearward inclination.

At the central portion ofthe curved or hooked forward terminal 15 of the body of the coupling C, a vertical slot 16 is formed, the forward wall of which slot is preferably straight, as is illustrated in Fig. 2, and its side walls are more or less curved, but I desire it to be understood that I do not confine myself to the formation of the slot 16 shown in the drawings. The rear wall 17 of the pocket 14 is preferably straight and adjacent to its rear wall 17, at a point about centrally between the sides of the pocket, an opening 19 is made in the bottom of the pocket, extending entirely through the body of the coupling C, as is shown best in Fig. 3.

A pin 18 extends loosely through the opening 19 in the body of the coupling, and at the upper end of the pin 18 a locking block 20 is secured, or is integrally formed. This locking block is provided with a tongue or nose 21 at its forward face, adapted to enter, and shaped to conform to the contour of the slot 16 in the forward portion of the body of the coupling C, as is shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and below the nose 21, the locking block 20 is more or less concaved, as is clearly illustrated in Fig. 3, so that, as is shown in Fig. 1, when the rear member 10 of a shaft butt B has been entered in the pocket 14 of a coupling C, the block 20 when seated in the pocket will engage with the said rear memthe butt member 10 in position, yet'permit of a free movement of the shaft to which the butt is attached.

To facilitate the raising and lowering of the pin 18 and its accompanying block 20, a finger piece 23 is attached to, or integral with the upper portion of the locking block, as is clearly shown in the drawings. The lower end of the pin 18 extends through an ber 10 of the butt in such manner as to hold opening 24 made in the arched forward portion 13 of the spring 13, and the pin 18 is prevented from leaving the said sprin by passing an auxiliary pin 25 or its equiva ent, through the main pin 18 at a point below the spring 13, as is illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3,

When the locking block is in controlling position relatively to the butt of a shaft, the spring 13 maintains it in such position, and it is evident that the spring 13, while keeping the block 20 seated, also admits of more or less play for the block. When the shafts are to be uncoupled, the pins 18 in the couplings employed are drawn upward and by means of the finger pieces 28, the pins 18 are turned until the blocks 20 are brought over the upper rear surfaces of the pockets 14 in the body of the couplings, as is shown in Fig. 3; whereupon the butts of the shafts can be readily and unobstructedly removed from the couplings that had received them. When a coupling is to be effected, the shaft butts are entered in the pockets 14, then the thumb pieces 23 of the locking blocks 20 are turned so as to bring the said blocks to normal position over their pockets, and when they assume such position, the

. spring 13 instantly and automatically acts space between the bottom of the locking block and the bottom of the pocket, so that as the parts wear the block will not rest upon the bottom of the pocket.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent,

In a thill coupling the combination with the body of the coupling having a pocket formed in its upper surface, the forward wall of which pocket is rearwardly and upwardly curved, the upper portion of the said forward wall of said pocket having a vertical slot therein, and a shaft butt having a rear end cylindrical member adapted to fit in the said pocket at the forward end portion thereof, of a locking block fitted to the said pocket, which locking block is provided with a forward recessed surface adapted to engage with the cylindrical end member of the shaft butt, a nose extending from the forward end of the locking block, adapted to enter the slot in the forward wall of said pocket, a pin extending from the lockin block downward, and loosely through the body of the coupling, and a spring secured to the rear portion of the body of the coupling, which spring is connected with the said pin, exerting downward tension thereon.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this'specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN LEROY TAYLOR.

l/Vitnesses:

WVILLIs L. MILLARD, ALBERT D. CoLvIN. 

